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>>> I’ve since learned that even if you are good at your job, it will not magically get noticed. You have to be a full on advocate for yourself at all times and

>>> I’ve since learned that even if you are good at your job, it will not magically get noticed. You have to be a full on advocate for yourself at all times and basically shove your work in the face of your boss or else they will think you are doing nothing. Absolutely! You need to make a big deal out of every little accomplishment and every tiny bit of work you do. And make sure to do it frequently, like every meeting, every week, every one on one. You never stop selling yourself. Otherwise, they're just going to assume your sitting around twiddling your thumbs.

gsibble 3y ago
Personally I find it infuriating.
- musicale 3y ago
  > Personally this infuriates me. The last bit (omitted from grandparent quote) is the important bit. Incessant self-promoters really are terrible to work with. I have no interest in becoming one.
- sgtnoodle 3y ago
  Me too. It seems to be a trait of big-tech culture/politics, and something vaguely similar to what's emerging within my immediate work group. The company has grown 30x since I joined, and hired a lot of big-tech people, so the cultural shift seems inevitable. I've been an erratic employee the last half year due to non-work stuff, and I've been feeling undervalued by my immediate coworkers and getting burnt out. I have a new manager that I generally like, but they're new to the company and they don't seem to understand me or know how to energize me. I don't care about personal metrics, trajectory or career development, or salary or job security at all really, and those are the carrots and sticks of big-tech culture. I started vocalizing my discontent last week, though, and I've since gotten an overwhelming amount of affirmation and validation from everyone up the management chain. I feel a lot better now, and I'm feeling optimistic rather than pessimistic.
nine_zeros 3y ago
Personally, I find that if management needs reports to sell their work at all times, that management is incompetent and lazy. Tell me what exactly are they getting paid to do?
- scubbo 3y ago
  To control the purse strings, which is why reminding them of your value is worthwhile to you. It is perhaps not fair, just, or efficient for them to be in that position - but they _are_, and acting holier-than-thou because _you_ can see that the Emperor has no clothes will not be beneficial to you.
  - nine_zeros 3y ago
    > To control the purse strings, which is why reminding them of your value is worthwhile to you. If purse strings are the only reason for engineers to listen to management, is it any surprise that people don't respect managers? Imagine you were a soldier at a war. Who do you feel inspired to listen to? A man on a mission who will share the treasure equitably or the man controlling the purse alone but is uninspiring?
    - scubbo 3y ago
      I don't think this conversation is going to go anywhere productive. You're responding to practical advice ("because the world is in one particular configuration, you can accrue benefit to yourself by acting in a particular way") by idealism ("but the world _shouldn't_ be that particular way"). I don't have any particular disagreement with anything you're saying (well, except perhaps the claim that personal inspiration is necessary, or even reasonable to expect, in the workplace - which is not a battlefield, and should not resemble one), but it's also not a useful response to the point being made.
    - gymbeaux 3y ago
      Managers are often like Vorta (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine). The Jem’hadar obey and grind literally to death, and in exchange the Vorta give them a little bit of a drug to keep them from feeling like shit. Man that’s probably a metaphor for capitalism. We grind and grind for money so that we can immediately spend the money so that we can grind and grind (eg need a car to go to work and now I need to go to work to pay for the car I need to go to work).

gsibble 3y ago

Personally I find it infuriating.

musicale 3y ago
> Personally this infuriates me. The last bit (omitted from grandparent quote) is the important bit. Incessant self-promoters really are terrible to work with. I have no interest in becoming one.
sgtnoodle 3y ago
Me too. It seems to be a trait of big-tech culture/politics, and something vaguely similar to what's emerging within my immediate work group. The company has grown 30x since I joined, and hired a lot of big-tech people, so the cultural shift seems inevitable. I've been an erratic employee the last half year due to non-work stuff, and I've been feeling undervalued by my immediate coworkers and getting burnt out. I have a new manager that I generally like, but they're new to the company and they don't seem to understand me or know how to energize me. I don't care about personal metrics, trajectory or career development, or salary or job security at all really, and those are the carrots and sticks of big-tech culture. I started vocalizing my discontent last week, though, and I've since gotten an overwhelming amount of affirmation and validation from everyone up the management chain. I feel a lot better now, and I'm feeling optimistic rather than pessimistic.

nine_zeros 3y ago

Personally, I find that if management needs reports to sell their work at all times, that management is incompetent and lazy. Tell me what exactly are they getting paid to do?

scubbo 3y ago
To control the purse strings, which is why reminding them of your value is worthwhile to you. It is perhaps not fair, just, or efficient for them to be in that position - but they _are_, and acting holier-than-thou because _you_ can see that the Emperor has no clothes will not be beneficial to you.
- nine_zeros 3y ago
  > To control the purse strings, which is why reminding them of your value is worthwhile to you. If purse strings are the only reason for engineers to listen to management, is it any surprise that people don't respect managers? Imagine you were a soldier at a war. Who do you feel inspired to listen to? A man on a mission who will share the treasure equitably or the man controlling the purse alone but is uninspiring?
  - scubbo 3y ago
    I don't think this conversation is going to go anywhere productive. You're responding to practical advice ("because the world is in one particular configuration, you can accrue benefit to yourself by acting in a particular way") by idealism ("but the world _shouldn't_ be that particular way"). I don't have any particular disagreement with anything you're saying (well, except perhaps the claim that personal inspiration is necessary, or even reasonable to expect, in the workplace - which is not a battlefield, and should not resemble one), but it's also not a useful response to the point being made.
  - gymbeaux 3y ago
    Managers are often like Vorta (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine). The Jem’hadar obey and grind literally to death, and in exchange the Vorta give them a little bit of a drug to keep them from feeling like shit. Man that’s probably a metaphor for capitalism. We grind and grind for money so that we can immediately spend the money so that we can grind and grind (eg need a car to go to work and now I need to go to work to pay for the car I need to go to work).